Burning Christmas lights could have taken down Charlottetown home

Jeremy MacFadyen of Charlottetown holds a strand of Christmas tree lights that caught fire in his home Monday night. He hopes it serves to remind people to check their lights and never leave them plugged in unattended.

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A man in festive decorating mode is certain if he hadn’t been in the right place at the right time his house could have burned down.

Jeremy MacFadyen was working on his computer with the football game on the television on Monday night when he heard an odd sound.

“I heard a pop; didn’t think much of it,’’ MacFadyen said Wednesday. “I thought it must have come from the TV or something in the house and then, maybe 10 seconds later, I heard two more pops.

“I knew something wasn’t right. I looked up and all the (Christmas) lights were out on the top three-quarters of the tree and there was a flame shooting out of the lights.’’

He jumped up, tossing everything to the side and quickly blew out the flame and pulled the lights from the socket.

Little did MacFadyen know there was a recall put out last year on the CSA-approved 150-light Garland set (CSA number is 241989).

“Who goes looking for recalls? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my tree was going to catch fire.’’

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Were your lights recalled? To check the latest recalls and alerts on products, go to the federal government’s website, www.healthycanadians.gc.ca and click on the “Recalls and alerts’’ button on the right-hand side.

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MacFadyen notes that Christmas trees are extremely flammable. He hopes this story serves as a reminder that people need to pay close attention to Christmas lights and check on things like recalls.

He thinks about what could have happened.

“If I hadn’t been home at the time or if I had been out with the dog at the time. I could have been in another room and this would be a totally different story. It happened that fast, in seconds.’’

Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald said people should be looking at their Christmas decorations very closely before putting them up.

“Look for cracked wires and frayed wires and loose connections. If (people) do happen to come across something like that, discard that string of lights,’’ MacDonald said.

Other pointers include never placing a Christmas tree near a heat source, such as a fireplace or baseboard heater, never place candles near trees and make sure real Christmas trees are constantly watered.

He added that people should also make sure the tree is unplugged before going to bed or leaving the house.

MacDonald said fires resulting from Christmas lights or trees do happen in Charlottetown.

“We don’t experience a rash of it, but we do come across it from time to time.’’

Jeremy MacFadyen was working on his computer with the football game on the television on Monday night when he heard an odd sound.

“I heard a pop; didn’t think much of it,’’ MacFadyen said Wednesday. “I thought it must have come from the TV or something in the house and then, maybe 10 seconds later, I heard two more pops.

“I knew something wasn’t right. I looked up and all the (Christmas) lights were out on the top three-quarters of the tree and there was a flame shooting out of the lights.’’

He jumped up, tossing everything to the side and quickly blew out the flame and pulled the lights from the socket.

Little did MacFadyen know there was a recall put out last year on the CSA-approved 150-light Garland set (CSA number is 241989).

“Who goes looking for recalls? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my tree was going to catch fire.’’

-----

Were your lights recalled? To check the latest recalls and alerts on products, go to the federal government’s website, www.healthycanadians.gc.ca and click on the “Recalls and alerts’’ button on the right-hand side.

-----

MacFadyen notes that Christmas trees are extremely flammable. He hopes this story serves as a reminder that people need to pay close attention to Christmas lights and check on things like recalls.

He thinks about what could have happened.

“If I hadn’t been home at the time or if I had been out with the dog at the time. I could have been in another room and this would be a totally different story. It happened that fast, in seconds.’’

Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald said people should be looking at their Christmas decorations very closely before putting them up.

“Look for cracked wires and frayed wires and loose connections. If (people) do happen to come across something like that, discard that string of lights,’’ MacDonald said.

Other pointers include never placing a Christmas tree near a heat source, such as a fireplace or baseboard heater, never place candles near trees and make sure real Christmas trees are constantly watered.

He added that people should also make sure the tree is unplugged before going to bed or leaving the house.

MacDonald said fires resulting from Christmas lights or trees do happen in Charlottetown.

“We don’t experience a rash of it, but we do come across it from time to time.’’